Unite for Health Equity: The Truth and A Path to Action

You cannot afford to sit this one out. We need action on Health Disparities. Join us!

Sister Cities Project, a non-profit organization committed to racial equality presents, "Unite for Health Equity: The Truth and A Path to Action"

Happening on Sat. July 27 2024 at 12:00 PM in the City Heights Performance Annex! Join us for a long overdue, 'real talk' discussion about the truth about Health disparities and find out what you can do to take action to change it. Find out about disparities that impact our black friends and neighbors. This is a "we" issue, and it's time to engage and join the movement for change. Listen our expert panelists share their knowledge. Gain insight from and lived-experience panelists who will share their perspective about disparities in health. Take action during our social hour and connect with like-minded residents who want to create change, too.

Event tickets are free, with a suggested donation of $20 or more to support event costs and future programming.

A special THANK YOU to our Event Sponsor, San Diego Women in Business for Good

Here's the format!

12noon - 12:35PM Welcome! Grab some food, and settle into our event. Introduction to the Topic. Your donations help fund delicious food from Black-owned food caterers.

12:35PM - 1:25PM Expert Panelist Speakers plus audience Q & A

1:25pm - 2PM Real Stories about Health Equity. A lived-experience.

2PM - 3PM Speakers are finished. Time to learn about action steps and connect with participants who want to work together to make change. Music by DJ Egypt.

Critical and urgent problems of disparities, drive our expert panelists in their work.

Maternal health disparities alone, should give us all pause and catalyze us into action. Black women have pregnancy-related mortality rates that are over 3x higher compared to the rate for white women. Pregnant Black women are 45% more likely to die in the hospital. (ref: Blue Cross: Maternal Health Equity scale of impact).

Our Lived-Experience Panelists look forward to sharing their unique perspectives with you. When we say lived experience, we mean knowledge based on someone’s valuable and essential perspective, personal identities, and history, beyond their professional or educational experience. To solve problems around Health Equity, we must seek to understand the lived-experience of people most impacted by the disparities. Sister Cities Project is grateful for the contribution of our Lived-Experience panelists.

Our Moderator, Dhalia Balmir, (pictured above), will help us pull back the curtain about key Health issues that result in disparities for our black friends and neighbors. Many people think this is a policy issue. Regular citizens need to understand this and can take part in creating change. Dhalia's 'real talk' approach to the issues, her experience as a practitioner and her commitment to racial equality, combine to create a unique learning opportunity about an issue we must all understand. Anyone who is an ally to the black community, or inspired to join us in allyship, should understand this critical issue to create change.

Plenty of data illustrates the disparities for black people in particular in our healthcare system. Acquaint yourself with the truth.

Black babies are dying at a rate 2.5X higher than non-hispanic white babies in their first year of life.

In the video below you will view Dr. Renee Canady, CEO of the Michigan Public Health Institution, as she shares an intimate story of loss and disparities that influenced her experience and that of Black women no matter their background. Produced by WKAR Public Media from Michigan State University.

Our EcoExchange(tm) events are spaces where residents can learn and engage honestly about the disparities they see or experience, and what it will take to create change. Our events are designed to catalyze change, and to go beyond talk. The impact ripple effect of your participation and following actions is significant. Join us!